Whispering Verse

"The only characteristic of this [relic] is that when touched with any finger of the right hand, the toucher will see the silver moon. Depending on the moon phase, the shape of the silver moon will be different. This characteristic actually has some effect. If you touch it when you are in a hallucination, you may be able to get out of the hallucination. After all, the symbolic meaning of the silver moon itself... 14 pounds, you take it with you for 14 pounds."

Probably because he knew that this [relic] was of little use, the price offered by Old John was not very high.

"But what about the negative effects of it? And the containment methods."

Shade asked, already planning to buy it.

"Don't touch it for a long time, otherwise you will have dreams at night, strange dreams about the silver moon, and then fall into eternal madness. The containment method is very simple. Just immerse it in a colorless liquid for more than three seconds before midnight every day. . If it cannot do this, it may directly interfere with the holder's dreams."

The negative effect was not very big, but Xia De did not immediately say that he wanted to buy it, but looked like he was thinking about it, and asked after a long time:

"Can it be cheaper?"

"That's the discounted price, for that cane."

The old man shrugged:

"I usually don't discount."

"Five pounds."

"That's impossible. Is this how you usually bargain?"

"Five pounds and a penny? I learned my lesson last time when I sold walking sticks."

"...Remember not to bargain with others like this in the future. Not everyone is as good-tempered as me. Thirteen pounds and ten shillings."

Old John shook his head and said.

"Six pounds."

Shade made the number six with both hands.

"Twelve pounds and seventeen shillings, that's the lowest price. Detective, there's no lower price. I can give you a message as a bonus, that's all right, right?"

said the old shop owner, who seemed to not want to continue cutting prices.

So Xia De thought for a while and made an expression of reluctant agreement:

"Okay then, deal. But you have to explain what the news is first. I don't want to hear the news that vegetable prices are going to rise recently."

"Young people always do that."

The shop owner behind the counter shook his head:

"I got the news, does [Mercury Blood] know about it?"

"Of course I know, the news about them is almost everywhere now."

The academy has issued bounty orders to the correspondence ring warlocks, which means that there is no need to cover up the matter of [Mercury Blood] in Tobesk.

"[Mercury Blood] and a group of cultists seem to be busy with something recently. This is not the point. My news is that [Mercury Blood] has a very good relic in his hands. You know, since I am recycling relics The business dealing with dangerous goods is very sensitive to this kind of news.”

But in order to raise the materials to synthesize the angel-level (level 1) relic [Mercury Blood], that illegal organization had a lot of good [relics] in hand.

"What exactly does it mean?"

Shade asked, and the old man said perfunctorily:

"If I was so well-informed, do you think I would still be the owner of a pawn shop? I would have gone to the black market to buy and sell information a long time ago. It is a keeper-level (level 3) relic, but it is actually an angel-level relic. A part of (Level 1) whose properties have declined after being disassembled... It is believed to be related to destiny and can be used to easily find lost items.”

"destiny?"

Shade raised his eyebrows. For some reason, he thought of the letter from Peter the Short Mouse which mentioned that the [Blood Spirit School] sent a Keeper-level (Level 3) relic to the Old World and handed it over to the [Mercury] Blood】. Although the silver-eyed man was very dissatisfied with the other party for not sending someone in time, he knew that the secret-keeper-level relic must be extraordinary.

"But what could it be? Convenient for finding items, and also related to destiny."

Unexpectedly, seeing that there was no more news about old John, he paid the money to buy the relics.

[Moonlight Orb] is already the fourth relic owned by Shade, but like [Twenty-sided Dice of Destiny] and [Poet Cohen's Manuscript] pages, this cannot enhance Shade's combat effectiveness and survivability. , can only be regarded as auxiliary supplies.

He didn't know if other ring magicians would have many relics in their hands, but he made up his mind to buy a powerful [relic] for self-defense when he became rich.

In this beautiful vision, Shade boarded the carriage to Lakeview Manor. The manor is located outside the city of Tobesk, in the south of the city, and is named after the manor is located next to Lake Schluch.

This is one of the properties of Earl Crown. The Earl holds a high position in the Kingdom's army and belongs to a wealthy and powerful noble. This dinner was hosted by the Earl's second son, Little Croun, and was a pastime on summer nights.

A flat dirt road leads directly from the city of Tobesk to the manor. The carriage carrying Shade arrived at the destination when the sunset appeared on the horizon in the evening. After leaving the city, the burning smell in the air disappeared. The air outside the city was quite good. The young detective, who was tired from sitting in the carriage for too long, was invigorated by the fresh air.

Wearing his best black formal suit, a hat and a cane, he stepped onto the stone road at the entrance of the manor, and entered the courtyard of the manor with the guests who arrived one after another.

The night had just begun and there weren't many guests. Everyone was scattered in every corner of the courtyard, labyrinth garden, building and manor, chatting with familiar people.

The arrival of summer has also changed the way of dressing, but in this relatively conservative era, it is still impossible to see a certain scenery. Of course, if Shade had access to certain salons and parties, he would surely be surprised by the activities of the nobles.

The young detective didn't know anyone here, but he had already made a reservation with Baron Lavender at the meeting place, which was the stone table under the grape trellis on the east side of the fountain at the back of the manor, where the Baron and his friends competed at Rhodes.

But it's not time yet, so he can only wander around the manor alone. He knew in advance that dinner would be served at the dinner party, so Shade didn't eat much at noon and mainly fed the cat.

Now I see a long table set up in the courtyard from the manor house to the gate of the manor. The table is covered with a white tablecloth. The shining metal tableware and candlesticks illuminate the surroundings and also illuminate the food on the table. This makes the original Shade, who was not very hungry yet, felt that his stomach was thirsty.

He was also a decent person, so he didn't get the food regardless of his image. Only take a few at a time, but you can take them multiple times from different positions on the long table. This is Shade's strategy.

Of course, while eating, he did not forget to distribute his business cards to attract business for himself. This requires skill. Shade usually leans in silently when people are chatting, and then waits for an opportunity to say a few words.

When the time is right, introduce yourself and hand over the business card. Because the address of the business card is St. Teresa Square in the city center, people who get the business card mistakenly think that Shade is a very powerful detective. No one will refuse such a business card.

Shade became even more determined that he would never move out of his current apartment unless absolutely necessary.

Although he didn't know many acquaintances in this world, Shade actually saw a familiar figure after the last ray of sunset disappeared and night fell. It was a black-haired maid, but her clothes were obviously different from those of the maids in charge of meals and receptions in the manor.